One in four children in the United States is myopic,
but according to The Harris Poll survey results released today by CooperVision,
only 33% of parents know what that term means, or how it can affect their
children’s future eyesight. The survey was conducted among eye care
professionals, including 155 optometrists and 158 ophthalmologists, and 1,005
parents with children between 8-15 years old regarding their knowledge of
myopia.
“I am not surprised that 48% of parents noted they
know less about their children’s eye health than they should,” says Dr. Rupa K.
Wong, a board-certified pediatric ophthalmologist. “I have diagnosed an
increasing number of children with myopia in the past 5-10 years, and my
patients’ parents are often surprised with the diagnosis. With the help of
yearly eye exams, the condition can be diagnosed and treated to avoid more
severe eye problems later in life by slowing the progression.”
“We know there is a lot of confusion about the
significance of myopia, how it progresses and how to treat it,” says Dr.
Michele Andrews, Senior Director, North America Professional and Academic
Affairs at CooperVision. “So it comes as no surprise that while 65% of parents
claimed they were somewhat or very knowledgeable of myopia, only one in three
were able to identify myopia as nearsightedness. There clearly needs to be more
education about what childhood myopia is and why it is important to diagnose it
early.”
More highlights from the survey include:
- 97% of eye
care professionals agree parents should know more about the ways they can help
protect their children’s vision
- 73% of
parents strongly/somewhat agree that teachers are more likely to notice that
children have vision problems ; 68% of parents strongly/somewhat agree that school nurses often notice
potential vision problems among children before parents
- Parents say
they are more knowledgeable about other childhood conditions including the flu
(93%), ear infections (86%) and lice (80%) compared with their knowledge of
myopia (65%)
- 22% of parents report the top reason prompting an ECP visit is an in-school eye screening, whereas 92% of ECPs state this is the top reason for parents seeing them for their child’s vision.
Click HERE for the full press release.